AI-generated “deepfake” technology has given rise to a disturbing new form of sexual abuse targeting teenagers. Across the United States, high school students are using apps to create and share fabricated explicit images of their classmates, a practice experts call “image-based sexual abuse.”
Nude images shared without consent can lead to “shaming and blaming and stigmatization,” said Amy Hasinoff, a communications professor who has studied this issue. Even if the images are fake, other students may not be able to tell the difference, subjecting victims to the same harmful stereotypes and social repercussions.
Moreover, these fabricated images can follow victims throughout their lives, putting them at risk of being barred from future employment opportunities and vulnerable to physical violence if recognized. “These images put these young women at risk,” said Yeshi Milner of the nonprofit Data for Black Lives.
In response, at least nine states have passed or updated laws targeting deepfake nude images, with more legislation in the works. A federal bill would allow victims or parents to sue perpetrators and impose criminal penalties. However, some experts worry these laws may be ineffective, as the criminal justice system has historically struggled to address sexual abuse cases.
“We don’t have a legal system that can handle sexual abuse,” Hasinoff said. “There’s no reason to think that this image-based abuse stuff is any different.”
Deepfake Nudes
Instead, some advocates argue the key to stopping deepfake abuse lies in regulating the apps and AI technologies that enable it. Lawmakers could require app stores to bar nudification apps without clear consent provisions, or compel developers to implement safeguards against nonconsensual image generation.
But this would require challenging the “unchecked ethos” of the AI industry, where products are often released first and the consequences addressed later. “Until companies can be held accountable for the types of harms they produce,” said Britt Paris of Rutgers University, “I don’t see a whole lot changing.”
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